Four 'Must Knows' about the Supermoon

By Allyson Koerner | May 5, 2012

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Tonight is the night folks. Be sure to set your alarms for the event I know you’ve all been waiting for . . . the 2012 Supermoon! Last year, we all were lucky enough to experience the largest full moon in 18 years and now we get to do it all over again. To help you get pumped, here are four ‘must knows’ about the giant, fantastic and very bright Supermoon.

1. What exactly is a Supermoon?

This year’s Supermoon is expected to be nearly 14 percent bigger than the average full moon. Whoa! So what exactly causes this spectacle? It all happens due to the moon being nearer to Earth than normal ,Yahoo! Canada reports. It’s given its name, since it seems larger and “super” in appearance, but really there is no difference in size – like an illusion. It’s so super it’s expected to cause 42 percent more tidal force than usual, with very high and low tides occurring. “This will expose large areas of beach and rocks which we normally don’t see. Many people enjoy walking on our beaches and exploring these new areas of beach and in particular people enjoy picking shellfish to eat which become exposed during these very low tides,” the Irish Water Safety group said last year.

2. Does the Supermoon cause weather hysteria and natural disasters?

I’m writing this piece and as we speak it’s storming. Does that mean the Supermoon has magical powers causing weird shifts in the weather and natural disasters? According to some people, yes indeed. The pattern of the moon’s placement and its movement may “coincide with event like earthquakes, volcano eruptions and other types of unusual weather,” astrologist Richard Nolle says. Some are even adamant that the Supermoon and its intense gravitational pull, which came just two days prior, caused the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

3. Could there be a Supermoon baby?

First of all let’s clarify that tonight’s Supermoon is not going to reproduce a child. However, some lucky person could deliver a baby, and according to Dr. Manny Alvarez through his personal experience of delivering babies full moons seem to have quite an effect in the increase of births. Also, legend does have it the moon’s gravity can set women into labor. So if you’re an expectant mother, get ready because you could be the lucky one who gets to dub their son or daughter as the “Supermoon Baby!”

4. Beware . . . the Supermoon may turn you into a werewolf?!

Myths, and, legends and folklore. Oh my! With the Supermoon come some remarkable and crazy conspiracy theories. Just because the moon looks abnormally large, many believe it directly correlates with some unique occurrences. For example, supposedly hospital admissions increase, crime skyrockets and people start acting odd, NASA reports. If you’re a true believer, I don’t mean to bring you down, but NASA says the majority of major studies show no correlation between such “events.” I’ll leave you with this; “lunacy” means insanity, which comes from the Latin word for moon. Hmm . . . very interesting.

If you miss tonight’s Supermoon, which really there is no excuse as it’s hard to miss, you can catch the next one on Nov. 14, 2016. Mark your calendars!